Finding Home Again-Chapter 3
●He is Good, So Good●
"What do you say, Lilli?" Alice asked over the roar of the cafeteria two weeks later.
I frowned, reigning in my wandering thoughts. "About what?"
She threw her arms in the air, groaning. Bella giggled and said, "About coming with me down to La Push after school."
I leaned in and whispered, so a talking Angela and Ben couldn't hear. "I thought Alice and Edward weren't allowed on the reservation."
Alice had told me more about her family during the sleepover at my house when Angela and Bella had been in the other room. I learned their human stories and that they were not allowed at La Push. Alice had not told me why.
Alice sighed. "Nope. We are going hunting. So, are you going with Bella?"
I cleared my throat and stared at the table. "Um, who are we visiting?"
I thought of a certain native boy that I had developed a fancy on. When it was silent, I peeked up to see three smiling faces.
"Why are Alice, Bella, and Edward smiling and Lilliana blushing?" Angela questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Bella answered. "I was planning a trip down to La Push today and asked Lilliana is she wanted to come. She asked who we would be seeing…three guesses who she's thinking about, Ang."
They turned to me and shouted, "Seth Clearwater!"
"Aww, Lilli! That's so cute!" Alice jumped up and down in her seat, oblivious to the stares.
Angela nodded, exclaiming. "You should have seen her at the beach! She was googly-eyed…and come to think of it, he was not much better…"
Edward glanced at Bella and stated, "It's the eyes."
She smirked back and I felt as if I was missing something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finding Home Again~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come on, Lilli!" Bella smiled as she parked in front of a small, red house.
There were two other cars parked on the edge of the trees that surrounded the yard. I took a deep breath and followed her up the porch to Jacob Black's house. I could hear laughter coming from inside. Bella knocked on the door and the laughing inside stopped. A few seconds later, the door swung open and a man in a wheelchair smiled up at us.
"Heard you from two miles away, Bella. Good to see ya!"
She quickly hugged him, matching his smile. "Hello, Billy. Lilliana, this is Billy Black, Jacob's father."
I waved at wisdom-filled eyes and quietly said, "I'm Lilliana Garvin. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Black."
He patted my hand and kindly said, "Ah yes, Lilliana. Please call me Billy. Make yourself at home; the boys are in the sitting room."
Bella nodded and led me into the house. It was small and homey. Four pairs of eyes flashed from the TV as we walked in the room.
Jacob smiled and hugged Bella. "Bella! Hey, Lilliana!"
I took a place next to Bella on the floor and glanced around the room, hoping I got all of their names right. "Hi, Jacob, Embry, Quil, Seth."
Embry grinned at me. "So, Bella hasn't been charged with kidnapping yet?"
I smirked at her and she shrugged. "Not yet."
Jacob confirmed, "So you're a junior?"
I nodded and asked, "What grades are y'all in?"
They all answered juniors. I peeped up at Seth and felt my face heat up when he sent me a small smile.
"I hope you girls don't mind but we were just about to head to Sam's." Jacob stood up.
Bella shook her head and grabbed my hand. "Let's go, Lilli! You will just love Emily!"
I let her pull me outside in front of the boys and we walked down the driveway. The boys headed off down the road so I figured it wasn't a far walk. Bella looped her arm in mine and nudged my ribs.
She whispered, "I saw you."
"Way to sound creepy, Bells." I rolled my eyes.
She ignored that and pinched my cheek. "It was so adorable, Lilliana!"
I slapped her hand away, causing the boys to turn around. "Bella!"
Quil chuckled. "I wanna see a catfight. Meow."
I jogged up to them, exclaiming, "She pinched my cheek!"
Embry and Quil blinked before roaring with laughter. Jacob rolled his eyes and my breath caught when Seth took my hand and guided me to him. My hand fit perfectly inside of his. We followed the others down the road and I realized how hot his hand was. But I looked up at him and decided that it was actually kind of soothing.
"Jake…look…" Bella murmured, grinning. He smiled in response and Embry and Quil snickered.
We turned down a driveway that led up to a pretty little house. There was a garden of flowers around the porch. I jumped as Embry hooted and ran into the house. Seth held upon the door for me and I followed Bella in. I breathed in the perfumes coming from the kitchen, sighing.
Seth squeezed my hand, sending electricity through my body, and led me in. The boys and Bella already sat around a table. Three more guys and a lady looked up when we ambled in. I held back a gasp, catching sight of the woman's face. Three long, gruesome scars were carved in the left side of her face. Our eyes met and I quickly concentrated on the right side. I had seen many soldiers with worse.
The right side of her lips rose into a smile. "Hello. You must be Lilliana. I'm Emily Young and this is my fiancée, Sam Uley."
I nodded to the man she gestured to, recognizing from the beach. He sat at the head of the table talking to who I remembered as Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote. He stood up and shook my hand, his eyes traveling down to my other hand in Seth's. Blushing, I pulled it away and sat next to Bella, who was shaking with laughter.
Sam smiled, sitting back down. "Welcome, Lilliana."
"Thank you. Emily, did you plant the garden of flowers? It's very pretty."
She nodded, smiling from her spot at the stove. "Yes. Hopefully, we had the last of the snow. Do you garden?"
I stared at the table top. "I used to with my mother…back in South Carolina…"
Emily smiled kindly at me but didn't press further on the matter. For that, I was grateful and went over to help her. The boys left to, what I assumed, was the sitting room. Bella sat on the counter next to us, dangling her feet, and turned on the radio.
I mixed the ingredients for blueberry muffins, quietly singing along to Carrie Underwood.
"So you like Carrie Underwood?" Emily asked, stirring a pot of sauce.
"Yeah, in fact, turn it up, Bells. "Mama's Song" is my favorite."
Bella complied and they listened to the lyrics as I sang along.
Mama, you taught me to do the right things
So now you have to let your baby fly
You've given me everything that I will need
To make it through this crazy thing called life
I closed my eyes, no longer standing in Emily's kitchen. I was home with Mom, dancing around the kitchen, waves crashing in the distance.
I whispered, "This was our favorite song."
And I know you watched me grow up
And only want what's best for me
And I think I found the answer to your prayers
I came back to the present as Bella reached down and hugged me.
Embry walked in, oblivious to the mood, shouting, "What's with the country?!" He stared at me. "Lilliana…you look terrible!"
Emily slapped him upside the head, glaring, as the boys poked their heads in.
And he is good, so good
He treats your little girl like a real man should
He is good, so good
He makes promises he keeps
No he's never gonna leave
So don't you worry about me
Don't you worry about me
I slammed my hand on the radio, not being able to listen anymore.
"She's not going to cry, is she?" Jared whispered to the room.
Sam gestured Emily over to him and Bella followed with the boys. I stared out the window and gasped as russet-colored arms wrapped around my waist. I looked up into his dark chocolate eyes.
Brushing my hair from my face, he whispered, "Don't cry, Lilliana…I'm here."
